US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE706

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000706 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI, EAID, MI 
SUBJECT: NEW MINISTER OF EDUCATION SEEKS USG SUPPORT FOR 
EDUCATION PROGRAMS 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY.  Newly appointed Minister of Education 
Yusuf Mwawa, formerly the Minister of Health under 
President Muluzi, said his first major task is to find a 
solution to the dwindling number of teachers in primary 
schools.  In his estimation, improving the teacher 
training colleges will fill the staffing gaps and 
increase the general quality.  Mwawa also told the 
Charge teacher inspections, retention, and HIV/AIDS 
education are areas where the USG could work with the 
GOM to improve education.  END SUMMARY. 
 
IMPROVING TEACHER COLLEGES 
-------------------------- 
2. During a July 15 introductory call with the Charge, 
newly appointed Minister of Education Yusuf Mwawa, who 
had been Minister of Health in the previous Muluzi 
administration, said the most critical educational need 
in Malawi is primary school teachers.  Outlining his 
initial objectives for the Ministry, Mwawa stated he 
planned to build a cadre of qualified primary school 
teachers by improving the quality of teacher training 
colleges.  Mwawa conceded that standards at training 
colleges had lapsed and suggested that the USG could 
assist by bettering the quality of existing training 
colleges. 
 
TEACHER RETENTION, INSPECTIONS 
------------------------------ 
3. Turning to other areas of concern, Mwawa noted that 
teacher inspections are infrequent and retention rates 
are low.  According to Mwawa, teacher inspections, which 
are supposed to occur three times a year, rarely take 
place.  Mwawa stated that any gains made in teacher 
training would be lost if not followed up by proper 
inspections.  Commenting on the poor retention rate, 
Mwawa said the only way to entice teachers to continuing 
working is to improve teacher salaries and benefit 
packages. 
 
USAID-VA TECH PROGRAM 
--------------------- 
4. Recently returned from the graduation ceremony of 24 
Master Degree students who participated in an in-country 
USAID-Virginia Tech primary education project under the 
University Partners in Institutional Capacity Program, 
Mwawa commented that the program provided excellent 
training for Malawian students and was cost effective. 
He suggested many more in-country programs of this type 
be supported. 
 
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE 
------------------------------------ 
5. Indicating President Mutharika has a strong interest 
in education, Mwawa said the President directed that a 
full assessment of the current system of education be 
done in the coming six months.  Mwawa hoped that 
important partners like USAID would participate in the 
assessment, which would take the form of a conference in 
November. 
 
HIV/AIDS AND EDUCATION 
---------------------- 
6. A notable issue from his time as Minister of Health, 
Mwawa told the Charge that he would be remiss if he did 
not mention the problems that HIV/AIDS cause in the 
education sector.  Mwawa said many teachers are dying of 
HIV/AIDS.  Mwawa also felt that many Malawian families 
are failing their children by sending them to secondary 
schools without proper education on HIV/AIDS, and this 
lack of education is causing the further spread of the 
disease.  Mwawa planned to make sure HIV/AIDS was taken 
into account when forming new polices and programs for 
the education sector. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
7. Mwawa rightly assesses that the quality of education 
will improve only with more and better-trained teachers. 
However, given the GOM's current resource constraints, 
the education system is not likely to see any new major 
influx of support.  Mwawa's challenge will therefore be 
to prioritize which sectors to address first. 
 
RASPOLIC